Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-20
BEWILDERING RICHES.
A Cavern Lined With Gold and
Precious Stones.


National Park, where rises the towerin G
peaks of the Snow Mountains, there has
long lived man known as 1.-THE Wat
| derer." This man has never had, in the
many years he has been known to the
hunters and trappers of the region, any
settled habitation. but has wandered
backward and forward through the Snow
Mountains, apparently ever on the
search for something. Scattered
through the mountains he had several
rude huts in which he had sojourned for
a few days at time, only to take up
again the weary circle of his endless
search. By the men of rifle and trap he
had long been considered crazy, and the
Indians 0f the section hive evidently
thought the same of him, and, with the
wellknown pity entertained by the red
tribes for those mentally afflicted by the
Great Spirit, have never molested him
in any way From hunter and trapper
of the Snow Mountains, who was in
Laramie few days since, the scribe
learned of the "Wanderer's" singular
life and of his death, which took place
some two months ago. The old man
was found in one of his numerous halt.
ing places by party of hunters several
days after his wanderings had ceased
| forever.
An examinat on of the papers on his
person, showed that his had been a
madness full of method, and revealed a
tale before which the story of Ali Baba
| and the ROBBERS cave pales into insignifi
cance. The old man, whose name was
ascertained to be Arthur Bathanny,
though he had probably not heard it
called for score OF years, came to the
Snow Mountains twenty five years ago
in the prime and vigor of youthful
manhood. A native of Pennsylvania
his youthful blood ha been fired by &C.
counts of the great West, and he had
started for the new country, joining an
exploring and hunting party OF ST.
Louis. The party penetrated into
| Wyoming, passed through the Big Horn
basin, and in the late fall of 1861 found
themselves on the bead waters of tn e
Clarke fork of the Yellow Stone. Fol
lowing up the Clarke fork they soon
came upon the cafion Of the ream, aud
entering it passed through and came out
among the mountains in The confines oi
the great National Park. Here they in.
augurated a grand hunt among the
mountain game they found so plentiful
One day Bethany wandered away from
the party in pursuit of bear he had
wounded, and followed the trail into
Snow Mountains. In deep and rock y
gorge he ran his game to earth and saw
him enter an opening in the side
of the gorge. On appr0a ,hing the
opening he saw that it must lead into o
cavern of considerable extent, and al
once bodily followed the game. He
soon found the bear just dead from its
wounds.
| But where did he find it? In the
midst of a scene of dazzling splendor
The entire interior of the cavern was a
mass of virgin gold studded with daz,
zling gems. From seams overhead there
came only small amount of light, and
in the semi.obscurity the gems gave
forth luminous rays, and the pure ere
| filed the cavern with a golden sheen.
| Scarcely able to believe the evidence of
his senses, Bethany examined the pre-.
cious stones of the cavern, at first with
fear and trembling and then with the
widest transports Of Joy. In the narrow
rocky seams which traversed the golden
mass of the cavern walls, he recognize
the diamonds brilliant white, the red
fame of the ruby and the flashes of
beautiful blush green peculiar to the
turquoise. With head in wh;rl and
heart beating tumultuously Bethany
left the Gorgeous cavern to tell his com.
rades OF his extraordinary discovery, for
there was enough riches there to make
them all Rothschilds. But scarcely had
he emerged from the cavern when he
found himself enveloped in a sudden
and whirling mountain snowstorm. In
vain he tried again to find the cavern
entrance, and in his search he must have
wandered far away from the locality.
All night the storm ragged, and when
morning broke, cold and gray, he found
that he was hopelessly lost. The snow
covered the ground to the depth Of
many inches, and he could neither find
the cave nor his way back to his com.
panions. To be brief, he passed the
long winter amid the deep mountain
SHOWS, and when spring came at last he
renewed his search for the cavern OF
gold and gems, and searched for it until
the day he laid down to die, two months
ago Laramie Boomerang.